Cowboys release Elliott
The Dallas Cowboys released running back Ezekiel Elliott on Wednesday, ending a seven-season run for a two-time rushing champion who never regained the form of his dominant early years.
Elliott will be designated a post-June 1 cut, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t reveal details of the decision. The move will save Dallas about $11 million under the salary cap this season.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the decision was mutual to let the 27-year-old Elliott pursue another team in free agency and give the Cowboys more financial flexibility in building a roster.
While Elliott finished with 12 rushing touchdowns in a second consecutive playoff season for the Cowboys in 2022, his overall production never matched the value of a $90 million, six-year extension he signed to end a preseason-long holdout in 2019.
As the quick start to Elliott’s career fizzled, 2019 fourth-round draft pick Tony Pollard emerged as the best playmaker for quarterback Dak Prescott in the Dallas offense. The Cowboys have placed the $10.1 million franchise tag on Pollard for 2023.
Elliott has 8,262 career yards rushing, third on the Dallas list behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s career leading rusher, and Tony Dorsett. Elliott also was third behind Smith and Dorsett with 68 career touchdowns rushing.
NFL
The Patriots made their first big pickup of free agency Wednesday, adding free agent wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Smith-Schuster confirmed the move in a post on Twitter saying he was “Excited for my next chapter in New England!”
A person with knowledge of the deal said it is for three years and could be worth as much as $33 million. They spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because it hasn’t been announced.
Poyer agrees to 2-year deal to stay with Bills: Safety Jordan Poyer has elected to stay put by reaching a two-year agreement to re-sign with the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday after briefly testing free agency.
Poyer’s return immediately solidifies Buffalo’s secondary, which stood to lose a key leader and contributor who spent much of the previous six seasons forming one of the NFL’s top safety tandems in playing alongside Micah Hyde.
NBA
The NBA suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant eight games without pay on Wednesday after determining that his displaying a firearm at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month was “conduct detrimental to the league.”
Morant will miss his sixth game when the Grizzlies play in Miami on Wednesday night. He will miss the next two games and be eligible to return on Monday when Memphis plays Dallas. The games he already missed will count toward the suspension, and Morant will forfeit about $669,000 in salary.
“Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.”
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Aliyah Boston is now a member of the elite three-timers club. The South Carolina star was honored for the third straight year as an All-American by The Associated Press on Wednesday. Boston was joined on the first team by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, LSU’s Angel Reese and Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes.